Standing On Her Own Feet
by CrystalMetaphor
Summary: A story of growth, maturity and a woman taking control of her own life. Akane has always had a bit of an independent streak even though she's never really been able to back it up. But will Ranma be able to catch up with her when she finally puts her fo


STANDING ON HER OWN FEET  
Prologue: Snap  
  
  
[Author's Notes: Please note this is my first fanfic. C&C welcome.]  
  
  
"Tomboy!"  
  
Swing.   
  
"Idiot!"  
  
Duck.  
  
"Slowpoke!"  
  
Miss.  
  
"Grr...Raaanmma..."  
  
The temperature in the room increased another several notches as a red aura began shimmering around the youngest Tendou daughter. If one looked closely, one might notice the faint outline of a mallet flickering in and out of existence in the girl's right hand.  
  
"Ranma, you really out to be nicer to your fiancée, if you two are going to be wed one day. She is going to be your future wife, after all," cautioned the elder Saotome in rare human form.  
  
"Aw, shut up, Old Man. What do you know?" With that, the boy threw his father into the nearby pond, from which a giant panda subsequently emerged, thus bringing about a prompt ending to a brief Genma-as-human interlude. Turning back to the betrothed-in-question, Ranma continued his protest. "Who would want to marry such an uncute macho chick like her?"  
  
Normally, this would have been followed by an automatic mallet-to-skull. But this time, it was different. Of course it was or there wouldn't be any point to starting the fic out like this would there? =P  
  
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"Who would want to marry such an uncute macho chick like her?"  
  
Snap. Akane stopped as she felt something deep inside her cut loose. All her anger and indignation abruptly drained through the chasm that resulted leaving her feeling hollow, empty, and eerily calm.   
  
"I see," she breathed, the words having little significance as an inadequate expression of her sudden revelation.   
  
The pig-tailed martial artist who had thrown up his arms in preparation for the attack-that-never-came was confused at the sudden coolness of his, um...disciplinarian. "Wha-, Akane...?"  
  
"Come on, Ranma. We're going to be late for school. Let's go." With that, the dark-haired girl turned, grabbed her schoolbag and ran swiftly out the door.   
  
"Hey, wait up!" Speeding after his fiancée, Ranma wondered why he felt a strange hollowness coinciding with Akane's sudden shift.   
  
Beating up the familiar path towards Furinkan High, Akane regarded her surroundings with a strange detachment. It was as if she were floating a little behind herself, while her physical self continued to run, functioning on instinct and conditioned habit alone. She thought back to Ranma's statement. It was not new. It was not the first time she heard those words come out of his less-than-eloquent mouth. It's been over a year since the ritual began. He would shoot off his mouth and she would hit him with her mallet. So, why had she reacted differently?   
  
Glimpses of Jusendo came to mind. Ranma trapped in Saffron's growing web with no foreseeable escape at hand. Panic filling her mind as she leaped to the Phoneix tap thinking about nothing but saving Ranma from certain death. Feeling her life slipping away along with the moisture in her body. Witnessing the grief that overcame Ranma while she floated between death and reality. She loved Ranma. She couldn't deny that fact anymore. She can't say how long she has loved him, but since he came to Nerima, he changed her life...in so many ways. She didn't know if she could go back to the way it was before he came. When he had left to Jusenkyo, she didn't want to go see him off because she couldn't shake the unnerving feeling that something was going to go wrong. She was afraid of saying good-bye. She didn't want to say good-bye if it meant she'll never see him again. So, when he screamed her name at Jusenkyo while she dallied between death and life, she fought to return to him. Hearing the anguish in his voice and feeling his tears on her face mingling with her own, she dared to hope...that perhaps he loved her too.   
  
She wanted to marry him. She'd do it anyway to help him get his cure. She wanted him to be happy. But when she put on the wedding gown, the prospect of becoming Mrs. Ranma Saotome was not too unappealing in itself. Then he said he said he didn't love her. After all they went through, he still denied it.  
  
It's been less than two days since the failed wedding. They were back to the usual insults and fights, but Akane wasn't really into it. Every insult and comment chipped away further at the hope she had that Ranma returned her feelings. She thought about their most recent exchange, and particularly how it ended. If he really loved her, why would he say those things? Why would he deny it? Maybe...he just felt guilty or obligated to her since their parents arranged the engagement and he was, after all, very serious about issues of honour. But then there's Ukyou and all those other fiancées who had no less legitimate claims. Still, he wasn't doing anything about any of them, preferring to just string all of them along. Perhaps she had just imagined that he was upset over her dying...  
  
She glanced sidelong at the subject of her thoughts, who had caught up to her in no time on the fence. As usual, he ran along smoothly, almost carelessly, while commanding an air of casual indifference. The designated heir of the Tendou Dojo and School of Anything Goes Martial Arts mentally shook her head. She might never get over the easy grace and prowess that *the* Martial Artist exuded. She had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that she'll never catch up to him in skill level, but that didn't stop her from envying and wanting to try.   
  
She remembered the few times she tried running on the fence. She was doing okay for a while, albeit not as sure-footed as Ranma. But then she stumbled and would have fallen if Ranma had not caught her first.   
  
"Clumsy Tomboy! And you call yourself a martial artist!"  
  
It still hurt every time she heard that criticism. All her life, she had trained and worked so hard to become a good martial artist. She thought martial arts was her calling, her special skill, just like Kasumi's was cooking and Nabiki's was money-making. It was the one thing that made her unique, that set her apart from the rest of her family and even the people of Nerima. But then he came...and every time he learned a new technique, every time he rescued her from one incident or another, every time he refused to hit her was another blow to her ego. She hated being so dependent. She didn't have a purpose anymore -- not as a martial artist, not as the heir to the Tendou School...and apparently, not even as the rightful fiancee of Ranma Saotome.   
  
"What are you looking at?" Once again, Ranma's infamous mouth proved faster than his thinking capacity. He cringed. "Um, what I meant is...er..."  
  
*Ding, ding!*   
  
"Ni hao, Ranma!"  
  
*Glomp!*   
  
"Arghhhh Shampoo! Get off me!" The invincible Ranma Saotome was frantic as he once again found himself face-to-face...er, body-to-body...with one of the few binds that he could never really successfully rid of. Panicking, he looked to his usual method of escape. "A-a-ka---ne?" A quick display of emotions played over the blue-eyed boy's features as he went from panic to fear to surprise and then to puzzlement as he looked after the departing back of his fiancée.   
  
"Have fun, Ranma. See you at school," responded Akane without turning or slowing down. Unseen, she frowned. That came out sounding a little more forced than she had intended. No matter. Akane Tendou is not one to be strung along for any reason.   
  
  
  
To be continued...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
